Environmental Economists build complex problem solving, judgment and decision making and systems analysis skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Climate Change Policy Analysts (87%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Climate Change Policy Analysts | 87% | $82,220Pay for the broader BLS group “Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health” | Not compared | None |
| 2 | Financial Quantitative Analysts | 86% | $81,100Pay for the broader BLS group “Financial Specialists, All Other” | Not compared | None |
| 3 | Industrial Ecologists | 83% | $82,220Pay for the broader BLS group “Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health” | Not compared | None |
| 4 | Statisticians | 83% | $105,650 | — | None |
| 5 | Economics Teachers, Postsecondary | 81% | $123,920 | — | None |
| 6 | Data Scientists | 79% | $120,230 | — | None |
| 7 | Environmental Restoration Planners | 74% | $82,220Pay for the broader BLS group “Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health” | Not compared | None |
| 8 | Investment Fund Managers | 74% | $166,570Pay for the broader BLS group “Financial Managers” | Not compared | None |
| 9 | Business Intelligence Analysts | 74% | $120,230Pay for the broader BLS group “Data Scientists” | Not compared | None |
| 10 | Chief Sustainability Officers | 74% | $213,990Pay for the broader BLS group “Chief Executives” | Not compared | None |
Compared with Environmental Economists, median —. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as environmental economists (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
87% skill match · $82,220 (broader BLS group)
Operations Monitoring · Negotiation · Systems Evaluation
No work-context factor stands out as unusually hard in O*NET data.
86% skill match · $81,100 (broader BLS group)
Operations Monitoring · Programming · Negotiation
83% skill match · $82,220 (broader BLS group)
Operations Monitoring · Management of Personnel Resources · Operations Analysis
No work-context factor stands out as unusually hard in O*NET data.
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Climate Change Policy Analysts (87% skill match, median $82,220), Financial Quantitative Analysts (86% skill match, median $81,100) and Industrial Ecologists (83% skill match, median $82,220), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
None of the 25 closest matches pays more than environmental economists at the national median (BLS May 2025). Higher-paying moves usually need more training.
25 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.